Decent and Coarse Forms of Political Economy: Evidence from South Africa.

Abstract

The Political economy of a country is influenced by the economic philosophy and political ideology of the leadership. Evidence suggests a positive relationship between a country’s economic development and the macroeconomic environment. For instance, the impact of macroeconomic policies adopted upon political emancipation in South Africa has been questionable. With a neoliberal undertone, the policy’s prevision to attract long-term foreign capital, which was expected to drive economic growth and generate employment, has proven to be over-ambitious. Research was done on the perception of the policymakers and investors on the effectiveness of the policy initiatives on capital inflow and socio-economic variables. Using descriptive statistics, the research suggests that the current policies need to be reformed to achieve socio-economic peacefulness, which is essential to creating an investor-friendly environment. Increasing social unrest in the country makes it vital to formulate policies that are capable of improving the country’s investment competitiveness. If unchanged, the current socio-economic ills that have generated a series of uprisings may become unmanageable, thereby precipitating political instability.